r/Indian_flex

now started investing in FDs, gold etf and ipo because these are safe

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This month marks 5 years of my professional journey.

Sometimes I sit and think how desperately I wanted a job back then. Literally anything. I just wanted to start working and support my family somehow.

Back then, my family was under more than 15L debt. Some loans were from banks, some from relatives, and some from those instant loan apps that used to charge insane interest rates.

My Journey:

I had graduated in BSc Physics and honestly had started losing hope after hundreds of rejections. I even got scammed while job hunting. And then suddenly one day (on my grandfather's death anniversary), I got multiple offers on the same day.

In June 2021, I joined a service-based company in Gurugram as a Data Analyst Intern at 2.4 LPA. The work mostly involved repetitive operational tasks. I kept trying to automate things and continuously asked seniors to involve me in more technical work because I always felt underutilized. In Dec 2021, I got converted to full-time at 4.2 LPA plus small monthly incentives.

I started looking outside and eventually moved to Bangalore in March 2022 to join a startup at around 6 LPA. Bangalore expenses were much higher than I expected and despite switching companies, I still wasn’t able to contribute enough financially at home. So after office hours, I started taking online Data Science tuition classes to earn extra income.

After around a year, I got increment to around 7 LPA. During that time, I was already working very closely with the Data Engineering team and handling many similar responsibilities. So when the company started hiring for Data Engineering roles, I asked to transition officially. They said “You don’t have a tech degree, we can't move you to the Engineering team.”

One of the seniors later suggested I join the some online program from IITM to compensate for the absence of a formal tech degree. I enrolled.

At the same time, many Data Engineers left within a short span. Work pressure increased continuously, startup environments demanded learning new things quickly and putting extra hours. So eventually I had to stop taking tuition classes.

In Sep 2023, the company finally moved me into the engineering side as an Associate Software Engineer (with no compensation change). That year, I received: 3 Performance of the Month awards, 1 Quarterly Performer award

In Jan 2024, I got promoted to Software Engineer at 10 LPA. But the workload also exploded. When I initially joined the engineering side, there were around 6 Data Engineers in the team. By Jan 2024, only 2 were left. By March 2024, I was the only Data Engineer in the team. There were days where work stretched to 12-13 hours continuously. I again received Performance of the Month in April 2024.

Then in June 2024, my Engineering Manager resigned. That period became extremely difficult because suddenly I was attending more meetings, managing more responsibilities, while simultaneously preparing for IITM exams on weekends. Eventually in Sep 2024, I resigned because burnout had reached its limit.

After that, I joined a comparatively stable company at 17 LPA as a founding Data Engineer. Initially, the workload felt manageable for the first few months. But gradually responsibilities increased there too. At one point, I was taking around 28 interviews in a month while handling engineering tasks.

I slowly realized I was again moving more towards coordination and mentorship responsibilities instead of deep engineering work that I actually enjoyed. I had spoken to the Director who originally hired me got to know he decided to leave and start building his own company. I also decided to move on.

This time for a remote role at 35 LPA. I decided to take the leap.

And now, in May 2026, another major milestone happened. My family became debt-free. Not because of me alone. Because my father, my brother, and especially my mother continuously stood together through every difficult phase and contributed however they could.

I am a swe at big tech. I saved around 17L, parents lent me 13L with 0% interest. Invested 30L for a 2bhk flat (650sqft) and I'll be getting 12.5k per month as rent as well. Just now done with the documentation works!

edit: op is transwoman btw ;)

edit2: I rented out to 2 bachelors and they have office nearby. Again, it's only 650sqft and 243 uds only hence the cheap rate!

edit3: the house is inaugurated in 2019. so 7yo second hand

edit4: it's in Chennai, my hometown. U can find it in Chennai City on the outskirts, a lot of cheap houses. Mine is near to a small tech park hence the bigger rent.

There was a recent post by a quant, however they were not verified and most questions went unanswered. Hence wanted to create this post more dense with information (mods can please verify me).

About me, graduating in 1 month, from a top 7 college in CS. Will be joining a top Indian HFT (Graviton/NK Securities/Quadeye) as a QR next month with first year compensation around 90L all cash. I converted my intern last summer (5LPM stipend).

Here are some FAQ. (None of this was written/polished by AI)

Can I get Quant - Read . There are a lot of different types of Quant roles, some easier to get than others. However in general conversation most people are referring to the flagship Quant Researcher/Trader/Developer roles in top firms. What I'm saying next applies to them. To get into these roles from India, you almost always need an undergraduate degree from a top 10, (at max top 15) college with good branch, cgpa, skills. Exceptions are extremely rare. A few more points

• For Master (not dual degree) /PhD students from tier 1 Indian college, unfortunately it is almost impossible to break in as these roles simply don't open up.
• Applying laterally is probably harder than getting in straight from college. Though Quant Developer is usually more possible than Quant Researcher/Trader.
• Things change if you study abroad. I don't know much about it.
• Many Indian firms also have different non quant developer roles as well. Some top firms even go to tier 3 colleges for hiring for these roles. Pay is lower. Whether it is worth joining such roles really depends on a case to case basis based on a tradeoff between stability, WLB and pay.
• Codeforces does help in standing out, but I don't think firms will consider a master from a tier 3 college. There is too much cheating nowadays. For this reason, ICPC performance after qualifying regionals is a slightly stronger signal.
• IICPC is newer, a serious candidate should look into it. Many firms do give out interviews to top rankers there.
• For Interview Prep, Read (post is tailored to QR/QT). In India most QR/QT firms ask probability/brain teasers/CP. For QD, you need C++, OSN, CP. You do not need to be >=CM on CF to clear the interview. Most are not.

Preferably ask questions in comments and not DMs.

I turned 24 this April. I did BCA and joined MCA, but left after a month because I genuinely didn’t like it. After that, I somehow ended up taking a 2-year break from studies and career, and now I have a few MCA entrance exams this month.

Sometimes scrolling through this sub makes me feel depressed. People my age are buying houses, earning in lakhs and seem so settled in life, while I feel like I’m nowhere.

The funny thing is, I’m not jealous at all. I genuinely feel happy seeing people succeed because I know how much hard work it must have taken. But at the same time, I can’t help comparing myself and feeling left behind.

What makes it worse is that I’ve always been that above-average kid in studies. I know I’m capable, but the problem is I genuinely hate studying now. And whenever I think about a corporate job, I feel like I just can’t do it for the rest of my life.

I know 24 isn’t old, but right now life feels really confusing. I’m trying to figure things out, but some days it feels like everyone else already has a direction except me.

Just wanted to share this here because maybe someone else feels the same way too.

Checked my networth on my bday. here's the breakdown:

US listed RSUs (Post Tax) - 3 lakhs

FDs + Savings- 13 Lakhs

PF- 14 lakhs ( 10 lakh from PPF started by parents )

Equity + MF- 18 lakhs

Gold - 3 lakhs

Total ~ 51 lakhs

2023 grad, current salary: 30lpa base + 20k usd worth of RSUs per year

Working for a remote company grew my savings and investments 2.5x in one year If i get a promotion, will reach ~1cr by my next birthday.